I. |silə|wet, usu -ed.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: French, after Étienne de Silhouette died 1767 French controller general of finances; from his parsimony and petty economies
1.
a. : a representation of the outlines of an object filled in with black or some other uniform color
silhouettes cut from paper
a book illustrated with silhouettes
b. : a style of representation in which outlines are filled in with black or some other uniform color : outline 2a
illustrations done in silhouette
2. : the outline or a delineation of the outline of a person or thing especially when used as a means of characterizing or identifying
learn to identify ships or planes by their varying silhouettes
the silhouette of a new-model automobile
the robin's handsome silhouette — Morris Gilbert
for a moment they were in silhouette against a morning sky — Ross Santee
specifically : the outline or contour of a fashionable costume or part of such a costume varying from year to year and period to period
this year's full-skirted silhouette
an hourglass silhouette in women's clothes
3. : a photograph of essentially only two tones showing the subject against a light background
4. : a halftone with background dots etched or cut away
5. : a target shaped to approximate the silhouette of a man
6. : the visible outline of the body in a moment of action in the dance
Synonyms: see outline
II. verb
( silhouetted ; silhouetted ; silhouetting ; silhouettes )
transitive verb
1. : to represent by a silhouette : project upon a background like a silhouette
the line of the dune silhouetted against the sky — W.T.Scott
deep off-white color which does not silhouette the pictures like the more glaring whites — J.T.Soby
attack with the moon silhouetting the targets — E.L.Beach
a flock of roosting vultures, silhouetted on the sky — G.W.Cable
2. : to etch or cut away background dots of (a halftone)
intransitive verb
: to appear in profile like a silhouette